


Give Love a Try

by PrincessAria13



Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-04
Updated: 2016-06-10
Packaged: 2018-05-18 03:19:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 17,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5896114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincessAria13/pseuds/PrincessAria13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Love"<br/>For him didn’t exist. It was just a 4 letter word.  <br/>He believed it was impossible that 2 people can fall in"love" and live happily ever after<br/>That was until he met her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N 
> 
> Josh, Lucas, & Maya are juniors 
> 
> Riley & Farkle are freshmen

Lucas Friar walks through the doors of John Adams high, as he makes his way to his locker he can feel all the girls eyes on him but he just ignores them.

He approached his locker where his best friend Josh Mathews was already there getting his things out of his own locker. 

"Hey man, how was your weekend?" Lucas asks

"It was good, we went to visit my brother Cory" josh says 

"The teacher who lives in New York right?"

"Yep oh and guess what he told us, he got transferred over here and now he and his family are going to be moving here" josh tells him and lucas can tell that josh is excited. ever since he met josh 3 years ago when he moved here from texas he had always head about the famous older brother cory who josh respected the most and looked up to.

"That's great man, you must be happy to have him here" 

"Yea I am " 

"Does he have kids?" he asks

"Yea 2, a boy and a girl"

"Cool are they little?" lucas asks

"No, well Auggie is 6 but my niece Riley is 3 years younger than us, she'll be a freshman here"

"Really? i just assumed they were young"

Josh laughs "Yea well Cory and his wife married young "

Lucas nods "So when do they get here?" 

"Next weekend, he starts next monday? josh explains

All of a sudden Josh feels his eyes being covered

"Guess who?"

Josh turns to see his girlfriend Maya

"Hey gorgeous " he gives her kiss

Lucas rolls his eyes and turns to his locker to avoid seeing the couple. 

After they finally break apart she turns to Lucas "Hey Huckleberry" 

Lucas chuckles "Hey Shortstack"

It was a game they had played for a while. Maya loved teasing him about being from Texas, at first it annoyed him but after a while he was tired of fighting it and he came up with his own nicknames for her.

Maya turns back to her boyfriend "so we're still on for that movie this weekend?"

"Yea but we"ll probably have to do it Friday cause Saturday i'm helping Cory and his family move. Cory got transferred here" he explained.

"Oh they're coming?, yay i'll finally get to see Riley again i had so much fun with her when i went with you last month?" she says excitedly 

"Yep, she'll be starting next week" josh tells her

"Yay, well i better get going see you later" she kisses josh goodbye

"Later Ranger Rick" she calls as she leaves

"Later Blondie" He calls back

Josh and Lucas make their way to their homeroom

We got to find you a girl , Luke" Josh tells him as they are walking

Lucas snorts "yeah right so i can turn into some sick puppy like you"

"I'm not a sick puppy" Josh defends

"Dude Maya has you wrapped around her little finger, you're whipped"

It was true he would drop anything just to go be with maya,and when he wasn't with Maya he would go on and on about how pretty she was and how smart, she was a great artist, had a beautiful singing voice, blah la after a while Lucas would just tune him out. 

It annoyed him how all of a sudden Josh's whole world started to revolve around this one girl

"It's not being whipped, it's called being in love" josh fires back

Lucas rolls his eyes "whatever you say bro"

He thought it was ridiculous how people could fool themselves into thinking that love exists and that 2 people could really be together forever.

He saw for himself how what people call "love" eventually fades

He witnessed his parents relationship fall apart with his very eyes, all the yelling, screaming, crying, cheating until eventually they split up and his dad left.

He promised himself that he would never put himself through that.

Why bother getting involved with someone if its going to end badly. He was happy the way he was, single and no drama.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me
> 
> Twitter @AriaMighty
> 
> Tumblr Princess-Dancing-Sunnshine


	2. Chapter 2

Lucas is at his locker when Missy Bradford appraches

"Hey Lucas" she says obviously flirting

"What do you want?" Lucas asks not in the mood to deal with Missy 

"aww why so rude?" she asks

"Not in the mood Missy" Lucas says

"Well how about we go out Saturday?"

"Missy I've told you a thousand times I'm not interested" 

"You'll be begging for me one day Lucas"

Lucas scoffs "Don't hold your breath" 

Missy stomps away and Lucas just rolls his eyes. at that moment Josh approaches laughing as he sees Missy storming off.

"You rejected her again?" Josh asked already knowing the answer

"You would think she would take a hint" Lucas tells him as he leans by his locker waiting for Josh to get his stuff from his locker.

"Why don't you give her a chance?" Josh asks

"I'm not interested" Lucas repeats what he told Missy

"You say that about every girl that comes near you " Josh tells his friend

" I'm not looking for a girl Josh"

"Don't you want to find a girl and have a relationship?" josh asks

"What for so that in a couple of months we wind up hating each other and hurting each other until it becomes a contest to see who can hurt who the most?"

"Lucas come on man not every relationship is like your parents" Josh says

"Whatever man, lets change the subject please?" 

Josh knew this was a sensitive subject for his friend and he didn't want to push him

"Sure man, so any plans for the weekend?"

"Nope Mom's going out of town for work, so it's gonna be just me at home" Lucas shrugs

"Well if you want you can come over, we'll probably be helping my brother move but we could use as many hands as we can get" Josh offers hating the idea of his best friend alone in an empty house

"Beats watching tv all day" Lucas chuckle

"Cool we'll head straight to my house after school Friday" 

"Sounds good, let's get to class"

They begin to walk to their next class

=======================================================================

The week went by fast and before they knew it it was already Friday afternoon and the boys headed over to the new house where Josh's family was already there moving things.

They arrive to a house with a moving van in front and see Josh's father and who Lucas assumes is Cory loading boxes off the truck.

"It's about time" Cory Matthews teases his brother

"Hey give us a break we had school "Josh teases 

Cory hops down from the truck and hugs his brother 

"Lucas this is my brother Cory, Cory this is Lucas" Josh introduces them 

"Hello Lucas nice to meet you and thank you for helping us" Cory shakes his hand

"Nice to meet you too and I'm happy to help"

A woman who Lucas assumes is Cory's wife Toponga steps out of the house 

"Oh hey Josh your here" she hugs her brother in law and then turns to the other boy

"and you must be Lucas nice to meet you" 

"You too"

"Uncle Josh!!!" they see a little boy running at Josh 

"Auggie!!!" Josh catches him and hugs him and then they turn to Lucas

"Lucas this is Auggie, Auggie this my best friend..aside from you" Josh assures him 

"Hi Auggie " he he puts his fist out for the kid to bump it after Auggie turns back to his uncle

"This so cool, we're going to see each other all the time" he says all excited

"You bet buddy, we can go to the movies and ball games." Josh assures his nephew

"Cool" the 6 year old replies. He turns to the blonde "You like basebal?" he asks

Lucas chuckles "of course"

"Cool well you can come with us, we can be friends too" he says excited

"Sounds like a plan" Lucas smiles at the little boy

"Well lets get to work" Cory announces

They begin to take boxes out of the truck. Lucas takes out a box labeled "Riley's books"

"That one goes in Riley's room" Toponga directs him to the last room down the hall.

He enters the room and sees that someone had already started decorating . They had things like flowers and butterflies painted and hanged around purple walls and pictures of what he assumed were friends and family. 

He sets the box down and turns to go get more boxes when his body collides another body. He catches the person so they don't fall and comes face to face with a pair of big brown eyes.

"Sorry I wasn't looking where I was going" she says shyly

Lucas realizes that he was staring without saying a word and releases her immediately.

"It's okay" he tells her

"You must be Josh's friend " she says

"Yeah, I'm Lucas" 

"Nice to meet you Lucas, I'm Riley " she smiles and they shake hands

Lucas pulls away quickly when he realizes he was holding no too long

"Hey slowpokes hurry up" Josh calls out to them as he passes them to drop off a box in Auggie's room across the hall.

Riley gives Lucas a smile and then turns to go get more boxes.

Lucas is left staring at her as she walks away.

"You okay man?" Josh asks coming up to his friend

Lucas comes out of his daze "Yea i'm fine man, lets get back to work" 

They head back to the truck to get more boxes


	3. Chapter 3

The day went by pretty fast. Soon the used to be empty house was now full with the Matthews things. 

They had decided to order pizza for dinner so now they found themselves in the new living room with boxes of pizza open on the coffee table as they all finally sat down to relax.

Lucas enjoyed spending time with Josh's family, his parents were always so nice to him and Cory was exactly how Josh had described him,, he was very corky but pretty cool, and he had taken a great liking to Auggie.

As for Josh's niece Riley, 

Lucas was still trying to figure out the heck happened to him back in her room. He had never felt so much like an idiot, she probably thought he was some creep.

But he didn't care right? she was just some girl he doesn't even know.

"Thank you again Lucas for helping, I'm sure you had better things to do" Cory tell his brothers best friend"

"It's no problem Mr. Matthews" Lucas assures him

"Please, call me Cory"

Lucas smiles "Okay Cory"

"Uncle Josh can you take me to the park tomorrow?" Auggie asks 

"Sorry buddy but I have plans with Maya tomorrow, maybe some other time" Josh tells his nephew who pouts.

"So how is Maya?" Riley teases her Uncle

"She's good excited to see ou guys again, especially you" he tells Riley

"I can't wait" Riley smiles 

"Hey why don't you come with us to the movies tomorrow" Josh suddenly asks

"Really?, are you sure? I don't want to intrude" 

"You won't be intruding plus Maya would like to see you" Josh encourages

"I don't know Josh I don't want to be a third wheel" Riley says

Lucas can see why she wouldn't want to be by herself with them. He himself has been a third wheel with the couple and he always feels out of place. its like when Maya and Josh are alone it's like no one else is there and It annoyed Lucas to no end.

"Well.." Josh thinks and then gets an idea "Lucas can come then it will just be a group" Josh suggests

Uh I'n not sure.." Lucas is about to object

"Come on dude you said yourself you had no plans and it beats being home alone" Josh encourages

Lucas wants to say no but realizes he has no excuse out so he eventually gives in.

"Ok I guess I'm in" 

"Its settled then" Josh announces.

"Well it's getting late we should be getting home" Josh's dad announces

Everyone gets up and they start hugging and saying goodbye. Lucas shakes hands with Cory and Topanga and high fives Auggie and then he gets to Riley and once he's in front of her he's not sure what to say.

"Bye" she simply says with a shy smile

"Bye" is all Lucas says as well and he finds himself staring at her

She finally takes her hand out for a shake and Lucas takes it. He notices how soft and warm her hands were and quickly pulls away and mentally smacks himself for having such weird thoughts and he quickly follows Josh to his car to head back to his house.

Once home Lucas and Josh get ready for bed. Lucas is coming out of the bathroom and headed back to Josh's room and he is looking at the all the pictures on the walls, he had walked passed them before but he never really payed attention to them. Once he'a closer to Josh's room a picture catches his eyes and he comes closer and takes a look. It's a picture of a younger Josh, he looks about 10 and he has his arm around a girl and he realizes it's Riley. She had the same big brown eyes and shy smile. Lucas had to admit she had pretty eyes, Lucas shakes the thought out of his head and heads into Josh's room. Josh is already asleep so Lucas climbs into the air mattress and quickly falls asleep.

==============================================================================

Lucas and Josh spend the day hanging out until it was time to get ready for the movie Lucas was ready before Josh and decides to just wait on he couch. He was flipping through the channels when all of the sudden the door opens and Riley appears.

"Uncle Josh, Im..Oh Hi" She says 

"Hi" Lucas simply says

"Uh where's everyone she asks

"Your grandparents went out and Josh is getting ready" Lucas explains and Riley simply nods and goes to sit on the chair next to the couch.

They sit in silence and Lucas is wishing Josh would hurry up. Lucas tries to think of something to say. But Riley is the one to break the silence.

"So.... how are you?" Riley asks and Lucas can tell she's uncomfortable too

"I'm fine, and You?"

"I'm good" she replies

"So uh how was your first night?" he decides to ask feeling that was the lamest question ever but it was all he could come up with.

Riley smiles "It was fine, little weird I woke up and almost forgot where I was was" Riley says with a small chuckles 

"Yeah that happened to me when I first moved here" Lucas replies

"Oh really? where are you from?" She asks

"Texas"

"Ah that explains the accent" she comments 

Lucas nods "Yeah Maya calls me Ranger Rick"

Riley covers her mouth when she realized she let out a laugh

"Sorry I shouldn't laugh"

Lucas chuckles "No it's okay I'm used to it, I call her shortstack"

Riley lets out another laugh which causes Lucas to laugh as well.

"She has a nice laugh it's kind of cute, WHAT AM I SAYING?" he thinks

All of a sudden Maya walks through the door and sees Riley

"RILEY!!" She squeals and runs over to her and hugs her. 

"So I've seen that you met Huckleberry" Maya says referring to Lucas

"Yes I have"Riley answers smiling at Lucas.

Josh then comes downstairs and kisses his girlfriend and the 4 teens head off to the movies.

==================================================================================

Riley was right to not want to go by herself with the couple. Because as soon as they had entered the theater They had seemed to forget Riley and Lucas were there.

"Are they always like this?" Riley asks Lucas as their sitting in the theatre and waiting for the movie to start and Lucas turns to look over at the couple and sees them already involved in a heavy make out session.

"Yeah wait till the lights are off" Lucas tells her

Riley cringes at the thought "Yeah I don't really need to see that"

Lucas chuckles. The movie hadn't started yet so they sat there waiting as other people began to come in and find their seats.

"So you and Josh must be very close" Riley comments

"Yeah we're best friends" Lucas smiles. It was true Josh was the first friend he made when he moved here. He was the first person he trusted, he was also the first person he let in on his family drama, Josh was always there to listen to him and offer his help. He knew he could always count on Josh.

"It must be nice to have a best friend" Riley comments

"You don't?" Lucas asks curiously 

Riley shakes her head "I mean I had friends back home who I hang out with sometimes but I never had that 1 friend who you do everything with and who you trust and share things with?"

Lucas nods knowing exactly what she meant.

"So you 're a Junior?" Riley asks

"Yeah, You're a freshman right?" 

Riley nods "Yeah"

"You nervous to start School Monday?" 

"A little, it's kind of scary cause I won't know anyone there" Riley admits

"Well your dad will be there right and theres Josh and Maya" 

Riley nods "That's true"

Lucas' stares at her and hesitates and finally speaks before he can regret it "And I'll be there too"

Riley turns and smiles at him "Thanks"

They stare at each other until the lights go off signaling that the movie is about to start. They both turn back to the screen but all through the movie Lucas finds his eyes sneaking looks at the brunette sitting beside him.


	4. Chapter 4

After the movie the 4 teens decided to go grab some ice cream from their favorite ice cream parlor.

"Oh my gosh I forgot how good this ice cream was, I haven't had it since the last time I came" Riley says as she takes anther bite of her rocky road ice cream.

"Yeah you can't get ice cream like this in New York" Josh tells his niece.

They decided to take a stroll through the park. Maya and Josh were up ahead holding hands while Riley and Lucas stayed behind to give the couple some space. They walked in comfortable silence.

"So do you miss Texas?" Riley suddenly asks

The question took Lucas by surprise. No one had really ever asked him that, to be honest he hadn't really thought about Texas in a while there were a lot of bad memories from his childhood there that he would rather not remember. But he honestly didn't want to talk about it..

"Uh, yeah I guess" he says to make the conversation stop.

Riley feels like he didn't really want to talk about it so she decided not to push it.

"What about you? Do you miss New York?" Lucas suddenly asks 

"A little, I mean I used to love coming here when I was a kid but to live here is very different" Riley admits.

Lucas nods understanding "You must miss your friends"

"I guess, but like I said earlier we're not that close"

"Maybe you'll make new friends here" Lucas tells

"Yeah maybe" Riley says as they continue walking in silence.

Lucas looks up ahead to look at the couple in front, Josh had his armed wrapped around Maya pulling her very close.

"They really love each other don't they" Riley commented also looking at the couple.

LOVE there was that world again. He should had known that she was that type of girl who believed in all that nonsense.

"Yeah I guess" Lucas says 

"What? you don't think they are?" Riley asks turning to Lucas

Lucas shrugs "I'm not the best person to ask about that kind of stuff" 

"What you mean relationships?" Riley asks curiously

"Yeah I guess I just never saw the point in it"he shrugs

"You mean 2 people loving each other? What's not to get?" Riley asks

"It just doesn't make sense to me" Lucas says starting to get impatient with all these questions

"What?" Riley asks 

"2 people say they love each other forever and live happily ever after, it's just not possible"

"I think it's possible" Riley fires back very determined

"And how do you know it does?" he asks

"How do you know it doesn't?" Riley fires back

Lucas stares at her and they just stand there in a stare down neither of them breaking it. Josh and Maya approach them.

"Hey you guys okay?" Josh asks looking between them

Riley breaks contact "Yeah everything fine" she says and then begins to start walking, Maya follows her.

"What happened?" Josh asked 

"Nothing" Lucas answers and begins to walk off

======================================================

Later that night Josh was already fast asleep while Lucas was still awake laying on the air mattress thinking about today. That conversation with Riley still in his head he shouldn't be surprised she believed in all that happily ever after crap, she was raised around all this happiness where she was taught to believe everything was possible. But Lucas was not raised with those lame fairytales he was a realist he didn't believe in happily ever after, it didn't exist.

He tried to get Riley out of his head, her big brown eyes seemed to be burned into his brains he hated that, he had never had this issue with other girls he usually never noticed them they would be all over him but he could care less. 

So why was this one girl having such a huge affect on him

=======================================================

The weekend ends fast and soon it is Monday and time for school. Lucas hadn't seen Riley at all which was natural because they were in different grades so that meant they wouldn't really see much of each other. 

Soon Lunch arrives and Lucas is sitting at a table by himself when Maya arrives

"Hey Ranger Roy, wheres my boyfriend?" Maya asks 

"Not sure said he had to talk to a teacher, he should be here soon"

Maya simply nods

"So what was up with you and Riley?" Maya asks with a smirk

"Take that smirk off your face shortstack, nothing is happening" 

"nothings happening with what?" Josh asks as he approaches

"Oh we were talking about..." Maya begins

"About baseball...Maya was asking about games and I told her nothing was happening today" Lucas interrupted giving Maya a look telling her to stop

"Since when are you into baseball?" Josh asks his girlfriend

"Oh look theres Riley!" Maya changes the subject and waves Riley over. Lucas looks down and tries to avoid the brunette as she approaches.

"Hey Riles, how's your first day going?" Josh asks

"Pretty good" Riley tells them as she takes a seat which happens to be next to Lucas

"So you make any new friends?" Josh asks

"Um Ive talked to some people, this one girl Smackle was really nice" Riley tells them

"That's great" Josh says glad his niece was doing well on her first day.

Lunch goes on and Lucas and Riley don't say a word to each other the whole time. The bell finally rings signaling the end of lunch.

"So what class do you have next?" Maya asks

Riley takes out her schedule "Uh ...math with Mrs. Wallace

"Hey Lucas your class is by Mrs. Wallace class right?" Josh asks 

"Yeah" Lucas aswers not liking where this was going 

"Great you can take Riley to her next class" Maya pipes up 

Lucas tries to glare at her without anyone noticing 

"Uh it's okay, I can find it myself" Riley says 

"Oh come on I'm sure Lucas won't mind,right Huckleberry>" Maya says smiling at Lucas

"It's o..." Riley starts

"Good, It's settled" Maya interrupts and then Josh and Maya get up and head to their next class leaving Riley and Lucas by themselves.

"You don't have to take me" Riley tells him

Lucas looks at her and stares at those brown eyes "It's fine I don't mind"

They get up and start heading to class. The walk is pretty silent and both of them could feel the awkwardness. 

"Are you upset with me?" Riley finally blurts out

"Huh" Lucas says confused

"About the other night, I feel we left it kind of tense"

"No it's fine, all you did was share your thoughts " is all Lucas can say as they keep walking

Riley nods "So we're cool?" she asks

"Yeah" Lucas says smiling a little 

"Good" Riley says also smiling 

They finally arrive at Riley's class

"Well Thanks for showing me to my class" 

"No problem" 

They stand there for a second not knowing what to do next

"Well, bye" Riley finally says

"Bye" Lucas replies

Riley smiles one last time before entering her class. Lucas simply sighs and heads to his next class.


	5. Chapter 5

Lucas was at his locker getting his things together to go home. As he is putting his books into his backpack he feels someone approaching him and rolls his eyes as he sees who it is.

"What do you want Missy?" he asks already bored of this conversation

"How was your weekend?" she asks leaning by the lockers with that flirty smile she always wears.

"Fine" is all he says as he continues to look at his locker and tries to ignore her. 

"So have you decided if you are coming to my annual party? it's next weekend" she asks 

"No I haven't decided" 

"You could come as my date" she suggests hoping it would be an incentive 

Lucas rolls his eyes again "Yeah I don't think so"

"Come on why do you play hard to get"

"Im not playing I've told you before not interested" Lucas says kind of running out of patience.

"You say that now, but one day Friar" she begins to put her arms around his neck. right at that moment Riley comes around the corner.

"Oh, I'm sorry , I was looking for Josh" she tries to walk away but Lucas voice stops her

"No, it's okay Missy was just leaving" he looks at Missy who glares and stomps away.

"I'm really sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you guys" Riley says feeling really guilty 

"It's okay, Trust me" Lucas reassures her 

Riley nods and they are silent for a bit till Riley speaks up. "So is she your girlfriend?"

Lucas wants to scoff "No she's not"

"Well she seems to really like you" she says and Lucas feels something in her voice that he can pinpoint what it is. He was probably reading to much into it.

"I guess, So your looking for Josh?" he asks trying to change the subject

"Yeah he's driving me home, my dad has to stay late" she explains and Lucas simply nods. Neither knows what else to say so they are just standing there. Lucas still didn't understand why he was always so awkward around this girl.

"So uh how was your first day?" he finally asks her

"It was okay I guess, It sucks starting in the middle of the year. I'm behind on everything" she says 

"I'm sure you'll catch quickly" he assures her. she seemed like a very smart girl

"I'm hope so" she says with a small smile

In that moment Josh arrives "Hey Riles you ready to go?"

"Yeah, lets go"

Josh grabs his things from his locker and then turns to his best friend

"Okay Man, see you tomorrow" Lucas nods and they do their handshake and Josh begins to head to the car, Riley follows right behind him but not before saying goodbye

"Bye" 

"Bye" he repeats and watches her walk away.

"You're drooling" someone teases behind him and he rolls his eyes knowing that voice

"Hey Shortstack, you missed your boyfriend by the way"

"Yeah I texted him I couldn't meet him thinking I would be held up in art class but I got out early" she shrugs

Lucas turns and shuts his locker 

"So you and Riley are getting along pretty well" she teases

"Again Maya nothing is going on"

"Oh please I see the way you look at her"

"I don't know what your talking about" he replies

"Fine play dumb with me, I'll get the truth out of you eventually"

Lucas chuckles "Good luck with that"

"So there is something!" Maya exclaims 

"Goodbye, Pancake" Lucas says as he walks away but is stopped by Maya calling out to him

"It's too bad, cause you too would make a cute couple" 

Lucas turns and stares at her for a moment before turning back and continuing to head to his car. The whole time Maya's words are running though his head.


	6. Chapter 6

Lucas was over at Josh's house studying. They were currently in Josh's room. Josh on his bed while Lucas sat at Josh's desk. They had just finished their assignment for history.

"So glad we're finally done, i need a break" Josh says tired of looking at his textbook

Lucas chuckles "Yeah man me too" he says as he shuts his book.

"I mean I love my brother but he could have gone easy on us and not give us so much work on his first week" Josh comments

"Yeah he's not gonna make any friends that way" Lucas teases "But at least he's better than our last teacher Mr. Barns"

"True, Im so glad that guy retired" Josh comments

"So where's the shortstack today?" Lucas asks. Surprised he hadn’t seen the small blonde.

"She had plans with her mom"

"Aww so I'm your second choice, I'm touched" 

Josh tosses a pillow as his friend who dodges it.

"Hey I wanted to thank you" Josh suddenly tells him

"For what?" Lucas asks him confused.

"For being nice to Riley” he explains

Lucas shrugs "It's no big deal"

"I know but it's just she had issues back in New York and Cory was nervous about how she would do here with making friends and everything"

"What kind of issues?" Lucas asks curiously

“Girls at school i guess, I don’t really know the full story but Cory and Toponga worry about her cause she doesn't really have a lot friends and the ones she did have she kind of lost touch with , they were hoping the move would be a good for her, like a fresh start for her" Josh explains

Lucas nods "Well Im sure making friends for her won't be that hard, she seems like a nice person"

"Yeah she is, she's always been good with people" Josh says

Lucas could tell that immediately, Riley had something that made you feel you can talk to her and listens and she always seemed to have a smile on her face that could cause you to smile just from looking at her.

Lucas had zoned out till he felt something hit him in the face. It was a pillow

"Hey you okay you seemed out of it” his best friend asks

"yeah just thinking sorry"

Josh nods and they decide to get back to work. Lucas seemed to have a hard time focusing, his mind kept coming back to Riley, he wondered what kind of problems she could have had, it must had been bad if her parents and Josh were worried about her. He hoped that this move would indeed be a good fresh start for her and she can make friends.

=========================================================

The next day at school Lucas is at his locker when he sees Riley across the hall and she wasn't alone. She was talking to a guy. He had never seen him before but he assumed he must be someone from her grade. He watched as they talked and he could see Riley smile and laugh at something the guy just said, he wondered what he had said to her to make her laugh.

But why did he care, it was good she was talking to people and making friends. right? but for some reason there was something that bugged him abut seeing the 2 together and he couldn't for the life of him explain what.

He was lost in his own thought that he didn't realize someone coming up behind him

"Boo" They shout when they are right behind him making him jump because he wasn't expecting it.

"Dammit Shortstack, don't do that" he says turning to look at the blonde who just laughs. She looks over in the direction that Lucas had been facing and realizes what had him so distracted.

"ah so I see Riley has made a new friend" she says 

"Looks like it" Lucas says turing back to his locker 

"Is someone jealous" she teases

"Why would I be jealous?" he asks her

"You tell me?" she challenges

Lucas remains silent and continues to get things from his locker. at that moment Josh arrives

"Hey you?" he says approaching Maya and giving her a kiss "I missed you"

"I missed you too" Maya says hugging him and kisses him again

Lucas rolls his eyes at how corny they look

"Hey so you guys wanna go to Missy's party satrday? Josh asks them

"I'm not sure" Lucas says not really in the mood to see Missy 

"Come on there will be a bunch of people there i doubt Missy will be able to find you"

"Don't be so sure about that" Maya teases

"Hey guys" they turn to see Riley approaching them

"Hey Riles. you hear about the party yet?” Maya asks her

“Yeah some of the girls in my Bio class were talking about” she tells them

“So what do you say? You in?” Josh asks her

"Um I'm not sure parties aren’t really my scene" She says and Lucas can tell the whole subject makes her a little uncomfortable. 

"Come on you'll have fun" Maya urges

 

"No thanks, maybe some other time" she says and then the bell rings an she says bye and walks to her next class. Lucas watched her walk away.

=====================================================================

Lucas' mom was working late agin so he decided instead of going to an empty house he would just go hang out with Josh again. The boys found themselves in Josh room again on the floor playing some of Josh's video games. They were in the middle of a race car game when Josh brought up the party again.

"I know your not sure about the party but you should come, I mean what else do you have to do on a saturday night" 

"I guess your right, Im just not in the mood to see Missy I get enough of her at school" Lucas says 

Josh chuckle "Come on theres not any part of you that has any interest in her?"

"Nope absolutely not" he answers 

Josh rolls his eyes "Okay but there's got to be one girl that catches your eye" 

Before Lucas could answer there was a knock at the door and the door opened and someone came in. Lucas didn't turn around but as soon as they spoke Lucas knew exactly who it was.

"Hi"

"Hey Riles, what are you doing here?"

"I forgot my house key and my parents are still not home" she explains

"Well come join us i was just beating Lucas for the third time in a row" 

"Only cause you cheat" Lucas tells him

"Josh come downstairs I need your help with something" Josh's mom shouts 

"Coming!" he shouts back "Here Riley take my turn " he hands Riley his controller and heads out of the room. Riley takes Josh's spot on the floor next to Lucas as they continue to play. Riley ended up being pretty good and almost beating Lucas, he was very impressed.

"Your not so bad at this" he says as he tries to catch up to her and get back in the lead

"I have a little brother so I know a thing or 2 about video games" she explains

They continue playing. They have a good time teasing each other and trying to get the other to mess up.

As they played the conversation from earlier was still in his head and he couldn't help himself form asking her.

"So your really not going to the party?" he asks

Riley seemed to get uncomfortable like before she continued to look at the screen as she spoke

"No i don't think so" she answers

"You don't like parties?" Lucas asks

"Not really" she admits 

"Can I ask why?" 

"Just a bad experience" she tells him.

Lucas' curiosity makes him want to ask more but he can tell that the conversation is making Riley uncomfortable so he knew he should lay off.

They continue to play in silence till Lucas breaks the silence

"So make any new friends?" he tries to ask casually

"A few people I guess" she answers

"Like that guy you were talking to this morning at school?"

"Who? Farkle?" she asks.

Farkle what kind of name is Farkle Lucas wondered.

"He's my science partner" she explains

"Is he your friend?" he asks again trying to act casually

Riley shrugs "I guess, we've only spoken a few words but he seems nice"

They stay silent there not knowing what else to say. Finally Riley is the one who breaks the silence

"So the girl who's throwing the party her name is Missy right?" she asks

"Yeah, she has it every year" he explains

Riley nods "And Missy's that girl I saw you with the other day right?"

Lucas nods "Yeah that's Missy"

"She seems....nice" Riley struggles to find the last word

Lucas chuckles "Yeah she's something else"

"And you guys never dated?" she asks curiously 

"No we never dated, and never will" Lucas says not knowing why he felt the need to add the last part to let her know he was absolutely not interested in Missy at all.

Riley just nods and continues to stare at the tv as she again is in the lead. 

"What about you?" he asks curiously

"What about me? she asks 

"Did you leave behind a boyfriend in New York?" he asks as casually as he can

Riley looks down to hide her blush "Uh no , no boyfriend" 

He was surprised. He wasn't blind Riley was very pretty she must had have a lot of guys after her. For some reason that thought made him uncomfortable and he didn't know why.

"So Missy's not your girlfriend, but you must have one" she asks 

"No, no girlfriend" he answers

"I'm shocked, all i hear in the girls locker room is how cute Lucas friar is" she teases

Lucas rolls his eyes. the fact of girls drooling over him was no news to him , the girls were not the best at hiding it, It sometimes got on his nerves how these girls had nothing better to do than gawk at him when he's in the library or the cafeteria with his friends. He tried to pretend that he didn’t notice them when they would throw him flirty smiles or winks.

"Your quite popular" Riley says

Lucas feels himself blushing for some reason. He had never in his life blushed. What was going on with him?

Before Lucas or Riley could say anything Josh was back 

"I brought us up a snack he says as he puts a bowl of popcorn and 3 sodas on the floor. Riley handed Josh back his controller and he and Lucas began a new game as Riley sat back and watched them. 

"So Riley you sure your not up for that party?" Josh asks

"Yeah I'm sure"

Lucas could tell the topic of Missy's party had annoyed her now. He was very curious as to what she had against parties.

"You don't know what your missing, these things are always huge and everyone is gonna be there" 

"Parties are just not my thing Josh" She says obviously tried of the conversation.

"Well it's getting late my parents should be home, i'll see you guys at school" she gets up to leave 

"Need a ride?" Josh asks

"No thanks, ill see you" she turns to Lucas "bye Lucas" she heads for the door

"Bye Riley" he says as he watches her leave, he was so distracted he didn't even remember the game.

"Ha You lose" Josh exclaims

"Huh. oh yeah nice game" he says 

"You okay man?" Josh asks

"Yeah I'm fine just got distracted, lets play again" he says

"You sure okay?" Josh asks 

"Yeah man i'm fine, You ready for another round?" he asks

"Lets do it" 

They keep playing. Lucas tries to focus on the game but his mind again keeps going back to a certain brunette with big brown eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

Lucas hadn't been sure if he wanted to go to the party or not but he finally decided Josh was right. it was better than staying home alone.

Once he arrived the party was already at full swing and it looked like the whole school was there. He nodded and and waved at some of his teammates form the baseball team as he made his way inside to look for Josh who had texted that he and Maya were already inside.

"Glad you decided to make it man" Josh says as soon as he finds his best friend.

"Yeah well what else did I have to do huh" he tells him as he looks around at all the people dancing having a great time.

"Hey I thought you said Riley wasn't coming" he hears Maya ask

"She said she wasn't " Josh tells his girlfriend

"Then what's she doing here"

Lucas turns to where Maya is looking and there he sees her. 

"I guess she changed her mind" Josh shrugs little confused to see his niece there but happy that she's getting out and meeting people.

She was standing in a corner with a couple of other people including that guy Lucas saw her with, Farkle he remembered his name.

"Josh lets go dance" Maya tells her boyfriend pulling him

Josh turns to Lucas "You okay by yourself?"

Lucas nods "Yeah you go ahead i'll go say hi to the guys from the team"

Josh nods and lets Maya drag him to the dance floor.

“Glad you could make it” says someone behind him and Lucas doesn’t need to turn around to know who it is. 

“Wasn’t planning on it but my friends convinced me” he tells her

“Well I’m glad you could make it, how about we dance” 

“How about we not” Lucas answers back

Missy rolls her eyes “Fine be party pooper, but don’t worry I’ll wear you down eventually, see you around cutie” She winks at him as she heads off to her friends.

Lucas simply rolls his eyes 

He looks over again at Riley before he goes off to find his teammates.

==============================================================

The party was not as bad as he thought it would be, although he did have to keep dodging Missy anytime he saw her but other than that he was having a good time. 

"You having fun Huckleberry?" Maya asks as she and Josh approach him.

"It okay” Lucas shrugs

"Why are you just standing there, why don't you ask a girl to dance?" Maya asks

"I don't dance" Lucas says

Maya rolls her eyes "Don't? or can't?" she challenges 

Lucas ignores her "Im gonna go get a drink" he says 

"I'll go with you, you want anything babe?" Josh asks Maya

"Yes please, Ill be right back I'm going to the restroom" she pecks Josh on the lips and heads upstairs as Josh and Lucas heads toward the kitchen.

As they head to the kitchen they come acorss a familiar face

“Hello my Niece, I thought parties weren't your thing?" Josh teases her

Riley chuckles "Yeah they aren't but Smackle convinced me" she says nodding over to a small girl with long dark hair standing next to the Farkle dude.

"Well i'm glad your getting out there and making friends" Josh tells her

Riley nods and smiles at her uncle "Thanks"

"We were going to the kitchen to get a drink you wanna come?" Josh asks

"No thanks I should get back to my friends" Riley tells them

"Okay, are you gonna need a ride home?" Josh asks

"No thanks Farkle's moms picking us up" Riley explains

"Okay well have fun" Josh tells her

"Thanks" she turns to Lucas "See you later Lucas" she smiles at him

"Later" he replies as he watches her walk way to her friends

==========================================================

The party kept going on. Lucas decided to leave the love birds to themselves. He found himself over by the stairs with Jake one of the guys from the team. 

As Jake was going on about some new movie he saw Lucas looked around when he spotted Riley standing by herself. She was looking around probably looking for her friends. She looked a little uncomfortable by herself. Her eyes met Lucas and he tried to give her a small smile which she also returned with a small smile and awkward wave. He was debating weither he should go over and keep her company but before he could decide a guy approaches her.

"Hello Lucas you listening to me" Jake asks him

Lucas looks over "Yeah sorry man you were saying"

Jake contunued to talk and Lucas tried to listen but he found himself glancing over to Riley and the guy.

Riley was leaned on a wall trying to look anywhere but at the guy while the guy was leaned with one hand by the wall and towering over Riley.

He saw Riley try to walk away but the guy followed her.

"Excuse me Jake" Lucas stood up immediately and followed after them

Once he reached them they were outside. The guy had both of Riley's hands trying to stop her. It looked like Riley was moments away from being tears

Lucas quickly rushed over to them and pulled Riley away from him and placed her behind him protectively.

"Leave her alone" Lucas demands giving him the death glare

"Mind your own business pretty boy" the guy says giving Lucas a slight push 

"Just walk away" Lucas tells him

"Or what?" the guy says giving Lucas another push

Lucas was about ready to fight back when he heard Riley

"Lucas lets go" she says in a whisperer putting a small hand on his shoulder

He looks over at the Riley and could tell she was scared.

"Just get out of here" he tells him

The guy simply rolls his eyes "Whatever man I'm over it" he says and makes his way back into the party.

Lucas glares in the direction of the guy till he is inside and then turns to Riley and his eyes immediately softens at the sight of her and how scared she looks.

"You okay?" he asks putting a gentle hand on her shoulder

she immediately flinches at his touch and steps away

"Ye..yeah im fine" she stutters as she avoids looking at Lucas

"You sure?" he asks

Riley stays silent. Before he could say anything else the door opens again and Lucas sees Rileys friends

"Riley there you are, we've been looking everywhere for you Farkles mom should be here any moment to pick us up" the girl smackle tells Riley.

Riley simply nods. A car soon pulls up

 "Thats her, lets go" Farkle says as he and smackle head to the car. Riley begins and follows them she turns and Lucas barely makes out her silent "bye" before she enters the car and they drive off.

Lucas is left staring as they drive off. Once they disappear Lucas heads back inside where he finds Maya and Josh.

"Hey Lucas have you seen Riley?" Josh asks

"Yeah, her and her friends just left" Lucas tells him. He wasn't sure if he should tell Josh what happened. He knew he was Riley's uncle and should know but It wasn't for him to tell.

Josh nods "Okay Ill text Cory, he's already texting me asking about her" he says as he starts typing on his phone.

==================================================

Lucas arrives exhausted from the party he quickly changes into a pair of shorts and lays in bed. As he is laying there his thoughts once again come to Riley, he wonders if she’s alright. He kept picturing her with that guy and the scared look in her eyes. He never wanted to hurt someone as much as he wanted to hurt that guy. He had never seen him before and he hoped that he never came across him again because he wasn’t sure what he was capable of. He tried to control himself and get everything off his mind. He quickly drifted off to sleep. 

He feels a soft touch on his cheek and before he even opens his eyes he knows who is is.

He opens his eye and he comes face to face with those beautiful brown eyes that have had him hypnotized since the first day he saw them.

“I could get used to this” he says as he closes his eyes and enjoys her soft touch on his face and then her hand moves up to play with his hair.

He hears her giggle which is his favorite sound in the world

“How did you get in here anyway?” he asks 

“Your mom let me in before she left”

“hm” is all Lucas says

“Now come on lazy you have to get up” she says

He groans “No I don’t want to “ 

“Too bad Josh and Maya are waiting for us at the park”

He pulls her so that she’s laying with him. He wraps her arms tightly around her to keep her from escaping not that she was complaining.

“Let’s just stay here all day” he offers

“That sounds nice but they are waiting for us” she tells him lifting her face to look at him.

“Fine but first” he lays his lips gently on hers and gives her a long sweet kiss.

Once they pull away she looks at him with her beautiful smile.

“I love you Lucas”

At that moment Lucas awakes he looks around, the room is empty.

“What was that?” he asks himself.


	8. Chapter 8

Lucas is awoken by the sound of his phone ringing. He groans as he feels around looking for it and he finally finds it and answers without looking at who it is.

"Whoever this is, I hate you" he mumbles 

He hears his best friend laugh at the other end.

"Morning sunshine"

"Why are you calling so early?" he asks

"Its 10" josh tells him

He looks at the clock and sees he is right. He didn't get that much sleep, after that dream he had a hard time getting back to sleep.

"So what's your plan for today" Josh asks

"Sleeping" Lucas answers

"Well too bad, get changed cause we're going out"

"What?" Lucas asks confused

"Me and Cory planned to take Auggie to the phillies game today but Cory and Toponga had to head back to New York to handle something about their old place. So I have an extra ticket so I'll pick you up in an hour"

Lucas sighs "Alright see you then" he hangs up the phone and continues to just lay there for a moment . The dream still fresh in his mind.

What did it mean?

Why was he dreaming about Riley?

He had never had a dream like that before. Sure he had the occasional fantasies but what teenage boy hadn't . But this dream was different it felt so real like she was really in his room. 

He looked at the time, he should start getting ready before Josh got here.

He headed to the shower and tried to keep his mind off the dream.

An hour later Josh texted he was out front and Lucas headed out and hopped in the passenger seat of Josh's car.

'So we'll head to pick up Auggie and then we can head over to Chubbies to grab a bite before heading to the game" Josh informs him

"Sounds good"

Qucikly they arrive to Cory's house, Josh doesn't bother knocking as he opens the front door.

'Hello anybody home" he shouts 

"Uncle Josh'They hear Auggie shout as he runs into the room and jumps on his uncle

"Sup buddy you excited to see the Phyllis play?" Josh asks

"Yeah!" Ague says excitedly and then he turns and sees Lucas "Hey Lucas!"

"Hey little man how are you?" Lucas says as he ruffle his hair

"Good" he smiles at him

"Where are your parents?" Josh asks 

"They already left" Auggie informs him

"So your here alone?" Josh asks 

"No, Rileys in her room" his nephew answers 

The mention of Riley makes him nervous and he feels his stomach flip. He tries to pull himself together.

"Okay why don't you go get ready and we'll go" Josh tells him

"Okay" Auggie says as Josh sets him down and he runs off to his room

Lucas begins looking around the room. Last time he was there helping them move the walls were bare and there were boxes everywhere but now the boxes were gone and the walls were filled with tons of family photos.

"Looks like they finally finished unpacking everything " Lucas comments 

"Yeah Toponga and my mom had been working non stop all week" Josh comments as he also looked around

"Is that you?" Lucas asks with laugh looking at a picture on the coffee table he picks it up to look at it closely. It was a picture of a young Josh and a little girl which Lucas easily recognized as Riley. Josh was wearing a crown and his face had been smeared with make up

'Yeah it was Rileys 8th birthday and she wanted a princess theme and her and her friends thought it would be funny to give me a make over" Josh says with an eye roll

"Well you look adorable" Lucas teases

"Shut up" Josh chuckles as he grabs the picture from him

"Uncle Josh "Auggie shouts from his room

"Ill be right back" Josh tells Lucas as he sets the photo down and heads to go help Auggie.

Lucas is left alone to continue looking around the room as he is looking he feels someone enter the room. He thought it was Josh.

"Hey is he..." he begins but stops when he realizes it wasn't Josh

"Oh, I thought you were Josh" he explains awkwardly 

"No he's helping Auggie get dressed" she explains 

Lucas simply nods. He wasn't sure what to say her they just stood there neither saying a word.

"So you guys are going to a game?" She finally asks him

Lucas nods "Yeah we just came to get Auggie" he explains

Riley nods and she doesn't make eye contact she just looks down for a moment till she finally speaks up.

"I should have said this last night but thank you for saving me" 

"It was no big deal" Lucas assures her "Are you okay?" he asks

"Yeah thank you, I don't know what i would have done if you wouldn't have come" Riley says

Lucas didn't want to think about that and would have happened. 

"Don't think about that, atleast your safe" Lucas assures her

Riley gives him a small smile "Thanks" her small smile fades a little 

"You didn't mention anything to Josh did you?" she asks

Lucas shakes his head " No, no i didn't, I didn't think it was my place to tell him" he explains

Riley nods "Thank you, um if you don't mind can we keep it between us"

Lucas was surprised by this request "if thats what you want"

"I just don't want my parents to freak out or anything" she explains 

Lucas hesitates for a moment. He felt her parents should know but if she didn't want to tell anyone then he had to respect her wishes.

"Okay if you want I won't tell anyone" he assures her

"Thank you" she gives him a weak smile

Josh and Auggie appear 

"Okay we're all set" he announces he sees his niece "Hey Riles, so how did you like the party last night?" he asks

"Uh it was okay" Riley says awkwardly 

"Riley we're going to the Phillies game" Auggie says excitedly 

Riley smiles at her little brother "I know, I hope you have a great time" she says gently caressing his cheek reminding Lucas of how she caressed his in the dream and how good her touch felt. He quickly tried to shake the thoughts away.

"Well have fun you guys"Riley tells them

"Thanks, okay lets go" Josh says picking Auggie up and heading towards the door. Lucas follows behind but turns to look at Riley one last time.

"Bye" he says 

"Bye" she repeats 

they share a look before he shuts the door and heads to the car.

=======================================================

The day went great, after they had lunch they headed to the game. They had great seats they had a clear view of the game and Auggie had an fun time cheering.

"Did you have fun today Auggie?" Lucas asked as they drove back home.

"Yeah, it was awesome. I wish I had caught a ball though"Auggie pouted

"Next time buddy" Josh assured his nephew

They arrived to Cory's house when they entered Cory was seated on the couch watching tv. He looked over as he heard them entered.

"Hey guys how was the game" he asked

"It was good, Phillies won" Josh announced

"Did you have fun Bubba?" Cory asks his son

"Yeah daddy" Auggie says as he goes to sit next to his dad who picks him up and puts him in his lap.

"Hey Lucas how are you?" He asks the blonde boy

"Im good thanks, Sorry you couldn't make the game" he tells him

"Its okay there will be other times" Cory assures him

"So did you get everything squared away in New York?" Josh asks

"Yep, officially gave up the apartment" Cory tells him

"You gonna miss it?" Josh asks

"Kind of its where Riley and Auggie grew up but i love being back home and teaching at my old school" Cory tells them

"Well we're glad to have you as our teacher" Lucas tells him honestly

"Aww your just saying that" Cory tells him

"Your way better than mr. Burns, you don't mumble to yourself bout the good old days when they could hit kids with rulers" Josh tells him

Cory chuckles "Thanks guys" 

Toponga enters from the kitchen 

"Hi boys, you hungry I m making dinner" she tells them

"Yeah I could eat, how bout you?" Josh says turning to Lucas

Lucas smiles and nods "Yeah sure thanks"

"Great, well dinner should be ready soon" she says as she heads back into the kitchen. Josh goes to take a seat on the couch. Lucas excuses himself to use the restroom.

As he makes his way he passes Riley's room and sees her laying on her bed on her stomach reading. Lucas stood there for a moment watching her. Riley must of felt his presence because at that moment she looked up and sees him. He feels a little embarrassed getting caught looking like a creepy stalker.

"Uh sorry, I was heading to the bathroom" he says 

"It's okay, hi how was the game?" she asks

"It was good, how was your day?" he asks

"Pretty boring just stayed home" she shrugs

"Well it's nice to have a nice boring day sometimes" he says give her a small smile

"Yeah I guess: she says as she sits up

"You don't have to stand out there you know, you can come in" Riley teasess

"Right" he says as he steps all the way in. He takes a look at her room. 

"Nice room" he comments 

"Thanks, it's alright I guess" 

"You have a lot of books" he comments as he walks over to her bookshelf

"Yeah i read a lot" she shrugs

"Thats cool" he says as he continues to look at the titles

"Do you read?" she asks

"Sometimes when I find something I like" Lucas shrugs 

Riley nods as she looks down at her hands on her lap.

"What are you reading now?" he asks nodding toward the book she had on her bed. He joins her on the bed but keeps space between the two of them.

"Pride and Prejudice, it's one of my favorites" she tells him. Lucas nods

"Ive never read that" he tells them

Riley's eyes widen "What you've never read it, it's a classic"

Lucas shrugs "What's it about?"

“It’s bout a woman named Elizabeth who falls in love with a man who's much higher in society that her but they are both to stubborn to realize it or admit it to each other so they spend the whole time bickering and turning each other down . " she tells him and as she spoke he was memorized by her words. Normally he would be against any love story but she actually made it sound interesting.

"And do they end up together?" he asks curiously 

She smirks and hands him the book "Find out for yourself, borrow it"

He grabs it "Are you sure, I mean your were in the middle of reading it" he asks

She nods "Yeah, I've already read it 20 times,"

He smiles "Thanks"

There is a knock on the door

"Hey there you are, come on dinners ready" Josh says and he leaves again

"Let's go" Riley stands up

"Lets go" He repeats as they head out together.

==================================================

"So Lucas you play any sports" Cory asks as they are all seated down to dinner. Lucas finds himself next to Josh and across from Riley who sat next to Auggie as Cory and Toponga were seated at each end of the table.

"I play baseball" Lucas says

"What position?" he asks

"Pictcher" he answers

"Impressive, we'll have to see you play sometime" Cory says

"We have a game at the end of the month" Lucas tells him

"we'll hopefully we can see you in action."

"So what do your parents do?" Toponga asks

Lucas always dreaded that question

"Actually, its just my mom, she's a consultant for some software company" he shrugs

"Well that sounds interesting" Toponga says

"Yeah, she likes it" Lucas says

"Wheres your dad?" says Auggie 

The whole table is quiet for a moment

"Uh, he doesn't live with us anymore" Lucas says simply. He tries to avoid looking at anyone, but he feels a pair of brown eyes staring from across the table. He pretends not to notice.

"Why not?" Auggie asks

"Auggie, why don't we take the spotlight off Lucas, how bout we talk about something else" Toponga suggests trying to help out Lucas.

"Riley, you gonna try out for our dance team?" Josh suddenly asks

"Um I don't think so"

"Why not, you used to dance at your old school didn't you?" Josh ask

"Yeah but I'm still not sure" Riley tells him

"You dance?" Lucas suddenly asks 

"Kind of" Riley says shyly 

"Kind of?, she was one of the best I still think you should have run for captain" Toponga says clearly proud of her daughter.

"You should tryout Riley" Josh encourages 

"I just want to focus on catching up on my schoolwork for now" 

"Oh come on sweetie we all know you can do it , you've been a straight A student since kindergarten" Cory assures her.

Straight As and a dancer. Lucas was impressed 

"I'll think about it" Riley tells him 

"That's all I ask"Cory tells her

Riley nods as she looks down. The rest of dinner went smoothly with small talk the whole time Lucas would steal glances at the brunette across from him.


	9. Chapter 9

Lucas arrives home to find his mother there

"Hi sweetie" she greets her son

"Hey how was your business trip?" he asks

"It was good we got the job done early " she explains as Lucas nods

"What you got there?" she asks seeing her son carrying something

“It's a book, a...friend let me borrow it" Lucas explains

She grabs the book to look at it "Oh Pride and Prejudice, I love this book, I didn't know you were such the romantic" his mother teases

He rolls his eyes "Trust me I'm not, my friend recommended it so I thought i give it a shot" he shrugs

"A friend huh, would this friend happen to be a girl? she asks smirking 

"Maybe:" 

"Does my son have a girlfriend?"

"absolutely not" Lucas says

"Well you must like this girl if your reading her favorite books"

"She's just a friend mom" Lucas rolls his eyes 

"Whatever you say sweetie" she hands him back the book as he heads upstairs 

He lays in bed and opens the book to the first page. He is surprised to find that the story wasn't that bad, he actually ended up reading the first 50 pages before falling asleep.

The next day Lucas finds himself outside on the bleachers by himself reading again. He's so into the book he doesn't realize someone approach him.

"So how you liking it so far?" 

Lucas turns to see Riley standing over him 

"I'll admit, it's not that bad" he says smiling at her as she takes a seat next to him

“Although I do have to say this Darcy guy seems like a jerk don't know why Elizabeth likes him' he says making Riley laugh

"I wouldn't say he was a jerk, but yeah he doesn't make a good first impression" Riley teases.

They begin discussing the book and their favorite parts. Lucas had never enjoyed talking to someone as much as he enjoyed talking to her. He liked how enthusiastic she would get when she talked about books. He didnt say a word, he just admired her.

"Sorry, i talk to much sometimes" she says embarrassingly realizing that she had been talking the whole time as he just sat there.

Lucas chuckles "No it's fine, I don't mind, you make reading actually interesting" he teases

Riley giggles "Thanks"

"So have you given anymore thought to trying out for dance?" he suddenly asks 

"Yeah, I don't think so” she answers

"Why not?" he asks curiously 

She shrugs "I wanna catch up on my work" she answers not looking at him

Lucas felt she wasn't being completely honest.

"But I'm sure you can do both, I mean you juggled school and dance before, and you got straight As" 

"Yeah, but I..I just wanna take a break from dancing for a while" 

Lucas nods feeling there was more to the story than she was letting on but he didn't want to push her.

"So, you ready for your game, its coming right?" she asked

Lucas nods "Yeah, Coach has us training like crazy"

"Sounds rough" she comments

Lucas nods "It is but I like it" 

"Do you ever get nervous before a game?" she asks

“Alittle I guess, but once I step onto the field I'm fine"

"I know what you mean, It's like when you step out there, all your worries seem to fade" she says, and she seems in her own little world. 

"You sure you wanna quit dancing" Lucas asks

'I'm not quitting, I just taking a break" she says defensively

Lucas raises his hands in surrender "okay, sorry"

They stay silent for a moment

"I just think if you like something you shouldn't stop" Lucas finally says

Riley thinks for a moment before speaking

"It's just too much drama for me"

"There was drama with your last team?" he asks curiously

"A little bit yeah" 

"What kind of drama" he asks 

"No big deal, just girl stuff" she says quickly and stands up trying to get away from the conversation "I better get to class, see you" she walks off before Lucas could say anything else.

He felt Riley was hiding something. That's when he realizes that Riley hid a lot of things. She really didnt like discussing New York or her old school or friends.

Lucas was very intrigued to know what the brunette was hiding.

=======================================================

After Baseball practice is walking out the locker room after showering. 

"Hey man" Josh says approaching him

"Hey what are you still doing here?" Lucas asks

"I had to make up a test, so i thought i would wait for you to finish practice and see if you wanna grab a bite to eat" he asks

"Sure sounds good, I'm starving" he says 

=======================================================

They soon arrive to Chubbies and found a booth. The place isn't that crowded , most tables are full of other classmates.

"So how was practice?" Josh asks as they take their seats across from each other 

"It was good, but Im getting anxious, I just want it to be over with" he confesses. The waitress soon comes and takes their orders.

"So are you coming to the game?" Lucas asks

"Of course, I would miss it, even Maya says she's going"

"Great, so she can shout insults to try and mess me up like she always does " Lucas chuckles

"Don't worry, hopefully Riley can distract her" Josh says

"Riley coming?" Lucas asks and feeling a part of him felling a little happy knowing she was going to be there, he tried to shake it off.

"Proably, I know Cory and Auggie definitely want to come" he explains

Lucas nods "Cool" he tries to say as casually as he can. 

As their food arrived Lucas looked over th entrance to see Riley and her friends enter. She hadn't seen them yet but Josh stopped them when they passed their table.

"Hey Riles" Josh greets

"Hey" she greets them with a small smile, she looks over at Lucas 

"Hey" she says

'Hey" he repeats

"Uh, these are my friends Smackle and Farkle" she introduces them and they say hi and then excuse themselves as they make their way to a free table.

"I'm glad, she's making friends" Josh comments as he watches his niece.

"Yeah, that's great for her" he comments and Josh nods agreeing.

"You said her parents were worried about her because she had issues" Lucas asks recalling that conversation they had a while ago.

Josh nods "Yeah that's what Cory said"

"Do you know what kind of issues?" Lucas asks curiously 

Josh shakes his head "no, Cory didn't say much he just told me to keep an eye out for her" 

Lucas nods. He was so curious, What could have happened in New York.

=============================================

Lucas and Josh had finished eating and were just sitting in the booth talking about random things until they finally realized it was getting late.

"Okay let me hit the restroom and then we can head out" Josh tells his friend 

Lucas nods and Josh heads off to the restroom.

Once he was gone he looked over to Riley's table and saw that she was getting up to head over to the counter.

Lucas hesitated finally stood up and headed over to her. 

"Hey" he says as he stands right next to her

"Hey"

"Look I just wanted to apologize for earlier today, I really didn't mean to get in your business" he tells her.

"No it's okay I’m just annoyed, that everyone has been on my case wanting me to dance , and I really just wanna lay low this year" she explains

Lucas nods "I understand, and it's okay"

"So we're cool" she asks

"We"re cool" he confirms 

The waiter at the counter comes back and hands Riley her drink.

"Well I better get back to my friends" she tells him

"Okay, well I'll see you later"

Riley smiles "Later" she walks back to her table. Lucas watches her as she walks away, The brunette was sure a mystery.


	10. Chapter 10

The day of the big game had finally arrived. Lucas was feeling a little nervous that day, he decided to skip breakfast.

Arriving to school he met up with his teammates as they changed into their uniforms. When they went off to the field he looked up to the stand and quickly found Josh, and he wasn't alone.

He quickly recognized, Maya, Auggie, Cory, Topanga and Riley.

Lucas smiled at them as he approached the bleachers they came down to greet him.

"Hey, man you ready?" Josh asks

"As ready as I'll ever be" Lucas answers 

"Well i'm sure you'll do great Lucas" Cory assures him 

"Thank you sir, and thanks for coming" Lucas says

"Of course, I'd never miss a game" Cory says

"Good Luck Lucas, hit a home run" Auggie cheers for him 

Lucas laughs "Thanks Auggie" he ruffles his hair

"Well we better get to our seats, come on Auggie," Topanga says before wishing Lucas good luck and then her and Cory leads Auggie up to the bleachers so Auggie can see everything. 

"So Huckleberry, have a good game" Maya says

"Thank you Maya, Oh and no "Ha hurs" while I'm at bat please" he pleads

"I make no promises" Maya says as she grabs Josh and leads him to their seats.

"Good Luck" Riley says speaking for the first time.

Lucas smiles "Thank you" 

They stand there for a moment before Riley leaves to join the others.

================================================================

The game went off without a hitch. The score was tied but Lucas won the game with a home run.

"Lucas that was awesome" Auggie exclaims as they approach him after the game.

"Thanks Auggie"

"Can you teach me how to pitch" he asks

"Sure, we can go to the park one of these days and we can practice" Lucas assures him

"Cool" Auggie says excited 

"You were pretty good Ranger Rick"

"Thank you shortstack"

Cory approaches the teenagers 

"Good game Lucas" he says as he pats Lucas on the back

"Thank you sir"

"I say we celebrate. Dinner at Chubbies?" Josh asks looking around for confirmation.

The teens all agree. 

"You guys in?" Josh asks Cory and Topanga

"No thanks, you guys go out and have fun" Cory assures them.

"Okay lets hit it" Josh announces as they make their way to the parking lot.

"Riley why don't you go with Lucas that way he won't be so lonely " Maya smirks

"uh okay" Riley says 

They separate. Leaving Riley and Lucas alone.

They arrive to his car. He's not sure if he should open the door for her but he it's not like they're on a date or anything. 

Lucas hated feeling this nervous. 

He decided to just be a gentlemen and open the door for her anyway. She thanks him and gives him that smile that makes his stomach do flips.

"So how did you get into Baseball anyway?" she asks curiously 

Lucas shrugs "I don't know, I've just always been into sports i guess, I also play basketball" he comments 

No one had ever asked him that. He had never thought about it himself, it was just something he had always done.

"That's cool" she replies

"So what about you, how did you get into dancing?" he asks curiously

"Well when i was 7 my dad took me to see swan lake, and i loved it and decided I wanted to do bailie and my love for dance just grew from there" she explains

"That's pretty cool" Lucas says. 

"Yeah, my dad tried to get me into sports, he signed me up for little league once" she comments

"Really, were you any good?"he asks 

"Not one bit" she laughs "I begged him to let me quit"

"You couldn't have been that bad" he says

"Trust me i was, the other girls cheered when I quit"

Lucas laughs. 

Before they knew it they had arrived at Chubbies. Maya and Josh were already there waiting by the entrance.

The four teens entered and found a booth, Maya and Josh sat on one side of the booth leaving Lucas and Riley to sit next to each other on the other side . Lucas gestured for her to slide in first.

The place was packed with many teens and Lucas even saw some of his teammates there also celebrating. Many people came and congratulated Lucas on his win.

"Well you sure are popular Huckleberry" Maya comments

"I know, it's kind of crazy" Lucas admits. He looks around and notices a couple of girls smiling and waving at him.

"Your especially popular with most of the girls" Maya teases

Lucas rolls his eyes "Yeah I've noticed"

"It's nothing your not used to" Josh teases

"So what's everyone getting" Lucas picks up the menu trying to change the subject.

They order their food and began to talk about school and other things. Soon Maya and Josh are deep in their own conversation. It felt like one moment they were talking and then the next they were arguing and then back to talking.

Riley and Lucas simply sat as they watched the couple with amusement.

"They sure are an odd couple" Riley comments 

"Yes they are" Lucas agrees 

"But they are cute" 

"I guess" Lucas shrugs

"So how are you liking Pride and Prejudice?" Riley asks

"Oh I finished it" 

"Really? that was fast" 

"Yeah it was a pretty good book"'

"Glad you liked it" she says smiling at him

They sit there not knowing what else to say

"So do you have any siblings?" she suddenly asks. Realizing she didn't know anything about the him.

"No it's just me" he says simply

"That must suck sometimes" she sympathizes 

"Yeah it does sometimes. I've kind of always wanted a little brother' he admits.

"Your welcome to borrow mine" she offers

Lucas laughs "Thanks, I may take you up on that"

"He already looks up to you , he thinks your so cool" 

Lucas smiled at that, he had grown very fond of the boy in the short time he had known him

"He's a pretty cool kid himself" he comments 

"Yeah, he's alright, a pain in the butt sometimes but I love him" she chuckles

Their food arrives and Josh and Maya are still deep in their conversation

"Do you think they even remember we're here?" Riley asks 

"Probably not" Lucas chuckles

"Should we break them up" she asks

"Naw they'll come back eventually" he says.

"Must be nice" she says

"What?" he asks

"To get so lost in someone, you forget about everything else" she says as she turns to look at him as well.


	11. Chapter 11

Lucas found himself in the library working on his Math homework that was due next period. Math was his weakest subject and right now he was having trouble solving one of the problems. He had already erased his wrong answer for the third time.

"It's 4" someone says being him

Lucas looks over his shoulder to see the small brunette standing over him 

"Huh?" he asks confused 

She chuckles "The answer, Y=4" she explains and then takes the seat next to him

"You see you just forgot to carry the 1" she explains to him

He looks and realizes she was right 

"Thanks, you've taken Trigonometry before?" he asks surprised at how a freshmen could know trig 

Riley shrugged "I was in honors math" she explains like its not a big deal

"Wow" he says impressed 

"No big deal, do you want me to help you?" she offers

"You don't have to" he tells her not wanting to impose on her

"I don't mind, really" she assures and then pulls his book over to see what he had to do.

She ends up helping him finish his homework more quickly than he wold have by himself. She ended up being a great help, he felt she explained it much better than his own teacher

"Thank you so much for helping me" he says as he is putting his things away

"It was no problem, it was fun" she chuckles

"Math is fun?" he asks laughing

"Okay not fun, but it wasn't terrible" she corrects herself chuckling 

"Well You are a good teacher, I understand you better than my own teacher"

"Well I'm happy to help, feel free to ask me anytime" she assures

Lucas smiles at how kind she is "Thanks"

she nods and then looks at the time "I better get going next period is gonna start soon"

"Yeah I better get going too, again thanks " he says as he watches her stand up to leave

"Anytime" she assures again smiling and then heads for the exit

Lucas watches her walk away

====================================

"So did you do the homework?" Josh asks him as they enter their math class

"Yeah I did it during my free period" he replies 

"Nice I did it during history" he chuckles 

They take their seats in the back of the class

"Hey so Maya wanted to know if your coming to the annual carnival" Josh suddenly asks

"I'm not going in that dunk tank, I'll already told her" he tells his best friend. 

"No she's past that, you won't have to do anything" Josh assures

"Okay then I'm in" he says 

"Good, so how do you think you did on the homework?" Josh asks 

"Okay, um Riley actually helped me" he says 

"Really?" Josh asked surprised 

"Yeah she was in the library and she saw I needed help" Lucas explained 

"oh that's cool, then Im sure you did good, Riley's a genius" 

"Yeah she was great, I actually understood the material when she explained it" he confesses

At that moment their math teacher enters and begins to pass out their last test

"What did you get?" Josh asks

"I got a C" he says not so excited

"Well a C isn't that bad" he tries to console his friend

"Yeah but if my grades drop any lower, I can't play" Lucas explains 

Josh thinks for a minute

"hey what about Riley?" he suddenly asks

"What about her?" Lucas asks 

"You said you understood it better when she taught you, so ask her to tutor you, I'm sure she won't mind" 

Lucas looks at his test and thinks for a bit

Maybe having a tutor wouldn't be such a bad idea

========================================================

After class Lucas starts walking and spots Riley heading to her locker

He hesitates but decides to catch to her

"Hey" he says

"Hey" she smiles at him as they continue walking

"So Ive been thinking and I think I would like to take you up on your offer" he tells her

"You wan't my help in math?" she clarifies 

Lucas nods "Yeah" he shows her his test

"There's just some stuff I don't understand and I can't let my grades drop anymore" he explains 

Riley nods "Okay, I'll tutor you"

"Really?" he asks

Riley chuckles "Of course we're friends right" she asks

Lucas smiles "Yeah thanks" 

"So when do you wanna start?"she asks

"Whatever works for you" he tells her

"Um, you have practice after school right, so how about after practice you can come over to my place, if that works for you" she asks

Lucas nods "Sounds good"

The bell rings 

"Well I'll see you after school then" she tells him

Lucas nods "Okay, and thanks" he repeats 

Riley smiles "no problem, see you later" 

she makes her way down the hall

=========================================

It felt like baseball practice took longer than it usually did 

He rushed to the locker room to take a quick shower and grabbed his things and made his way to his car and began to head over to Riley's house.

For some reason he felt a little nervous and he wasn't sure why, they were just studying. she was just a friend helping him out. 

Right?

He finally arrives to the familiar house and knocks on the door and is greeted by Topanga 

"Hi Lucas, Riley told us you'd be coming, please come in" she says kindly as she steps aside to let the boy in

He smiles at the older woman "Thank you mam" he says politely as he makes his way inside the house

"Oh please call me Topanga, mam makes me feel old" she chuckles 

"Okay, mam...I mean Topanaga" he chuckles 

Soon Auggie comes out of the kitchen where he had been drawing 

"LUCAS!" he says rushing over to the tall blonde boy 

"Hey Auggie," he chuckles as he ruffles the boy's hair

"Did you come to teach me how to pitch" he asks excitedly

"No sweetie, he's here to see Riley" Topanga explains

"Aww" he says kind of disappointed 

"BUT, if you want this weekend we can go to the park and I'll teach you" he offers and looking over to Mrs Matthews to make sure she approved and she nodded smiling 

"Yay" Auggie says excited 

Riley comes out of her room

"Hey Lucas' she greets him

"Hey'

"Okay well we'll let you guys study, come one Auggie" she says as she grabs Auggie's hand and they make their way back into the kitchen

"So you wanna come to my room" she asks 

Lucas nods "Okay"

She walks to her room with Lucas following behind her. They reach her room and they head to her desk where she had 2 chairs already set up to begin working. They take a seat

"Okay so let me see your test so I can see what you need help with" she instructs him

Lucas nods and takes out his test and hands it over to her. He sits patiently as she reviews the test, as he waits he finds himself staring the brunette and noticing how concentrated she was and how her eyes scrunched in concentration. He found it kind of cute. He tried to shake the thoughts away as he Riley began talking.

"Okay, so your not that bad, but you just need to work on your formulas" she explains 

She goes into telling him what he did wrong and she would give him tips that could help him remember things better.

By the end of their studying he felt like he had really make some improvement, she really was a miracle worker.

"So I think that is enough for one night" she tells him

Lucas nods "Yeah, thank you Riley this really helped" he tells her

"No problem, glad I can help" she assures him

"Josh was right you really are a genius" he chuckles 

She blushes "I wouldn't say genius, I just study a lot" she explains 

"Like most geniuses"

Riley giggles 

"Well while most teens spent their weekends partying, I spent them studying" she shrugs

"So you never went out with your friends in New York?" he asks curiously 

"Um not really? she admits looking down at her paper 

"Why?" he asks

"I'm not much of a party person' she tells him

Lucas remembers how uncomfortable she was about parties when they first met 

"Well parties are overrated" he shrugs 

Riley smiles "says the popular jock" she teases making Lucas chuckle 

"So you must have been popular back at your old school" he comments 

"Why would you say that?" she asks and Lucas felt that she suddenly was uncomfortable 

"Well you were on the dance team and in Honors classes, I just assumed" he shrugs 

"Oh, um yeah I guess" she replies simply

Again Lucas saw that she was vague when it came to talking about her past. It make it more and more interesting to him

Why didn't she like talking about her New York and her old life?

"So are you going to the carnival?" Riley asks trying to change the subject

"Yeah, are you?" he asks

Riley nods "Yeah I haven't gone since I was a kid" she explains

"It should be fun, are you coming with us?" he asks

Riley nods "Yeah Smackle and Farkle are both going to be busy running one of the booths so your stuck with me" she teases

Lucas chuckles "Well that sucks" he teases which earns him a punch from the small brunette

Lucas laughs as he stares at the brunette and can't help but get lost in them. They were so big and brown and hypnotizing 

Once again he shook the thoughts away 

"So Uh I better get going" he says

Riley nods "Okay, so I'll see you at school?" 

Lucas nods "Yeah, and thanks"

Riley smiles "what are friends for right?" 

Lucas smiles "Right"

He smiles at her one last time before he makes his way out 

=================================================


	12. Chapter 12

It was the night of the Carnival. Lucas arrived to the school where the event was always held

He saw the whole place was full of rides and many stands of games and foods. He had to admit it looked even cooler than last years.

He finds Maya and Josh hanging by the popcorn stand

'Hey dude, you want some popocorn" Josh says as he greets his friend had they do their hand shake

"Naw I'm good" he tells him as he looks around 

"Well Maya I'll admit you did a good job, on the carnival this year" he compliments the small blonde

"Thank you Huckleberry" Maya smiles 

So guys ready?" Josh asks 

"Where's Riley?" Maya suddenly asks 

"She's over there talking to her friends" he tells her motioning to a stand nearby

Lucas looks over and sees the brunette talking to Smackle and Farkle. She was currently giggling at something the Farkle dude said. She looks over and sees the Lucas and smiles and gives him a small wave. She turns quickly to her friends and says goodbye and walks over to them,

"Hey, so what are we doing first?" she asks the 3 older teens

"Let's go on some rides" Josh suggests and they head to over to where the rides were located

They go on some of the rides, the time passes by quickly and the teens decide to take a break from rides and try the games.

As they make their way one of the volunteers comes up to Maya "Maya we need your help we need to move one of the stands " she informs the head of the committee 

"Okay,, Josh can you come help" she asks him

"Sure babe" he turns to his niece and best friend "We'll be right back" he informs them and heads off leaving them alone

"So you wanna keep walking?" he asks 

Riley nods "Yeah sure"

They continue walking 

"Oh Cotton Candy!" Riley exclaims as she makes her way to the stand with Lucas trailing behind her. She orders a pink cotton candy

"You want some" she offers 

Lucas chuckles "No thanks"

"You don't like Cotton Candy?" she asks 

"Ive never had it" he confesses

Riley's eyes widen "Never?" she asks 

"Never" Lucas repeats

Riley tears a piece and puts it close to his mouth "open" she instructs 

He chuckles but eventually opens and allows the candy in his mouth 

"So?" she asks

"It's actually pretty good" he admits and rips off another piece

She giggles as she stares at him

"What?" he asks 

"You have a little piece stuck on your face " she says 

He touches his face to look for it

"Here I'll get it" she says as she moves her hand to his face to remove the candy 

Once her hand makes contact with his skin it send shiver go down his spine.

"So uh do you wanna play a game or something?" she suddenly asks 

"Yeah sure" he says eager to take his mind off whatever just happened 

They continue walking until they reach Smackle and Farkle's stand which was the game where you throw balls and try to take down all the milk bottles

"Hey guys how's it going" Riley asks her friends 

"Pretty good. A couple of people have actually been able to win" Farkle tells them

Riley looks at the prizes and sees a cute little teddy bear

Riley looks at the prizes and sees a cute little teddy bear  
"Aww what a cute bear" she says

"You wanna try and win it?" Farkle asks handing her a ball

Riley shrugs "Okay" she grabs the ball and tosses and misses terribly, Lucas tries to hide his laugh

"Are you laughing at me?" Riley asks 

"No, of course not" Lucas says with a small chuckle 

She grabs another ball and tries again but misses again

"Here let me help, stand like this, and move your feet" he instructs he as he positions her for a better aim and she tries again and this time she is able to hit 2 bottles.

"I DID IT" Riley exclaims and Lucas can't help but chuckle at her excitement at knocking just 2, he found it kind of adorable.

"um Riley you only knocked down 2" Farkle tells her 

"Don't ruin my moment Farkle" she says

"How bout you star pitcher?" Smackle asks tossing him a ball

Lucas aims and is able to knock all of them 

"Show off" the brunette mumbles making him laugh

"Congrats" Smackle says giving him the Teddy bear

"Here" he says handing her the bear

Riley smiles "Thanks"

"Hey!" 

They turn to see Maya and Josh approaching them

"aww Huckleberry you won her a bear, thats so cute" Maya teases making Lucas rolls his eyes

Riley giggle as her and Maya begin walking as the guys follow behind them

They head over to the ferris wheel, Josh and Maya go together leaving Riley and Lucas to go together as well

Once they reach the top and the Ferris wheel it stops leaving them to enjoy the view

"I love the view from up here everything looks so pretty" Riley says as she admires the scenery

"Yeah it's nice" he agrees as he also takes everything in

"Thanks for my bear" Riley smiles at the him

Lucas smiles "No problem"

She stares at the bear for a moment "I think I'll name him Franklin" she informs him

"Why Franklin?" Lucas asks 

Riley shrugs "He looks like a Franklin"

Lucas laughs "You are a very weird person" he comments 

"I take that as a compliment" she says 

"Of course you would" he teases

"Don't make me push you off this ride" she threatens 

'Oh like you could" he challenges

She gives him little push but he doesn't even budge 

"Wow your weak' he teases 

She starts trying to punch him but he grabs her arms 

He realizes how close they have become. Their faces were inches apart, he could smell her, she smelt like Lavender, it was a nice sweet smell. 

He felt himself coming closer and then all of sudden they feel themselves moving and realize they are going back down. Both teens sit quietly, Lucas is still trying to process what almost happened.

Once they reach the bottom they get out of their seat and then head out and meet Maya and Josh at the exit

The teens continue to explore, Lucas tries his best to keep his distance from her for the rest of the night,

Soon the night ends and it is time to head home

"You sure you don't want a ride Riles?" Josh asks his niece

"Yeah Thanks, My dad is on his way already" she explains as she hugs him goodbye 

Josh heads over to go help Maya begin cleaning and putting things away

Riley turns to Lucas

"Well I'll see you around" she says

Lucas nods "Yeah, see ya"

Riley nods and both are silent for a moment 

"Well bye" she says

"Bye" he repeats 

She smiles slightly before turning and leaving to where her father was picking her up

Lucas watches as she leaves 

===========================================

After helping Maya and Josh, Lucas heads home exhausted he thought as soon as his head hits the pillow he would fall asleep straight away but ends up just laying there with his thoughts of everything that happened tonight

He honestly had a good time with Riley, he never really had that much fun with a girl before. He hadn't laughed so much in a long time. 

And then the ferris wheel 

what he almost did

He almost kissed her 

did he really want to kiss her?

did he like her?

He hardly knew her 

But there was something that drew him towards her

After a while he finally drifted off to sleep

===========

He awakes to the sun shining from his window. He turns to the other side to avoid the light and comes face to face with her beautiful sleeping face

He smiles as he admires her. He never got tired of watching sleep, sometimes he would lay there and admire her, he could't believe she was his but that ring on her left hand finger was proof that she was his and only his

"Are you watching me sleep again?" she asks without opening her eyes 

Lucas chuckles "How did you know?"

She opens her eyes with a small smile "Lucky guess" she giggles

He smiles and leans in and kisses "Good Morning beautiful"

"Morning" she says smiling at her husband "What time is it?" she asks 

He looks over at the clock on the night stand "we have a couple minutes before we have to get up" he informs her leaning in for another kiss

At that moment the door opens and in comes a bouncy girl with blonde locks' and the cutest brown eyes

"Mommy! Daddy!" she exclaims as she jumps on her parents bed and crawls to sit between them

"Hello Miss Emma, what are you doing up so early?" Lucas asks his daughter 

"Hungry!" the 3 year old informs them

"Well how about pancakes?" Riley asks 

"Yay!!" the little girl exclaims and jumps up and gets off the bed and runs out of the room

"Our daughter is little ball of energy" Riley chuckles 

"Well she does take after her mother" he teases and kisses her 

"Well we better go after before she destroys the house" Riley giggles. She leans in and gives him one last kiss before getting out of bed and heading out the door to look for their daughter

Lucas stays in bed for a moment, wondering how he got so lucky

At that moment Lucas awakens

"Woah" is all he can say


	13. Chapter 13

Marriage or any relationship for that matter was just a recipe for disaster

He had watched his parents marriage fall apart right in front of him

All the dinners where there was silence between the 2 adults 

and when they would talk it was always insults or accusations

All those nights he would lay in bed and hear his parents yelling 

When he would watch his dad leave and his mom was left in tears

The nights his father would come home late 

And the one night he didn't come home at all

He promised himself he would never put himself or anyone else through that

He was never getting Married

It would only result in a lot of pain

So why was he dreaming about it?

As he awoke the next morning, he couldn’t get that dream out of his head

He was actually married 

To Riley

And they had a kid

A very cute kid he had to admit

He tried to shake the thoughts away as he got ready to meet Josh and Auggie at the park like they had planned

He came downstairs and immediately could smell bacon coming from the kitchen. He enters the room to see his mother standing over the stove.

"Woah, your home and your actually cooking, I must be dreaming" he teases his mother, since it was rare to have his mother here on a Saturday and actually cooking.

"Haha very funny" his mother replies as he takes a seat and serves himself some juice that was already on the table

"What's the occasion?" he asks her as she place a plate in front of him

"No, occasion can't I make breakfast for my baby boy" she asks as she grabs her own plate and takes a seat at the table with him

"Well seeing as you haven't in a while.." he admits

She nods "I know and since I don't have to go in till noon, I thought this was a good chance to catch up, so what's new with you, how's school?" she asks

"It's fine" he shrugs

"Grades okay?"

Lucas nods "yeah I guess, I'm getting help with Math" he explains 

"That's good, and what about Baseball, still the best?" she teases 

Lucas chcukles "I guess"

"I'm sorry I missed your last game, but I promise I'll try to make the next one" 

Lucas nods "It's okay mom I understand your busy" He assures

He loved his mom, she worked hard to take care of him and support them all by herself and he admired her for that.

"You know I love you right?" 

"I love you too mom" he says grabbing her hand and giving it a quick squeeze before returning to his plate

"So what about your social life?" she suddenly asks

"What do you mean?" 

"Oh come on, No dates? Girlfriends? Give me something " 

Lucas chuckles "is your life so boring, you need to obsess over mine?" 

"Yes" his mother answers simply making him laugh

"Come on theres no girl in your life?" 

"Nope"

"What about that girl who gave you the book?"

"Riley?" he asks

"Riley? oh what a cute name, who is she? is she pretty?" she asks

"Calm down Mom, she's just a friend, she's actually Josh's niece?"

"Niece?" she asks confused " "Well how old is she?"

"She's only 3 years younger than me, she's a freshman" he explains 

His mom nods then after a moment of silence she suddenlt asks "is she pretty"

"Well I should get going” He says as he gets up to put his plate in the sink ignoring his Mom

"I take that as a yes" his mom giggles at her Son's sudden change 

"I promised to meet Josh at the park with his nephew, I’m teaching him to play Baseball” he explains

“Alright party pooper be that way”

"I’ll see you later"

“Okay, well have fun, Love you"

“Love you too mom" he replies as he walks over and kisses his mom on the head before heading out the door

======================== 

He arrives to the park and already sees Josh and Auggie sitting on a bench, from what he could see Auggie was trying to tie his shoe while Josh watch in amusement

"Hey guys" he greets as he approaches 

"Lucas!" he exclaims as he jumps off the bench and runs to go hug him

"Hey Auggie, you ready to practice?" he asks 

"Yeah, I even brought the glove my dad bought me" he shows him the glove

"Wow thats a nice glove buddy" he says admiring it 

"Can we start?" Auggie asks excitedly

"First we should tie your shoes" Josh chuckles as he approaches them and he and Lucas do their handshake 

=========================

"That's great Auggie, just remember to keep your feet apart" he instructs him

 

Auggie nods "Okay" he says as he positions the bat the way Lucas had taught him

They had been practicing for a while now , they practiced pitching and hitting and Lucas taught him about some of the other positions.

He was doing great, He was a fast learner and paid close attention to what he was saying. Auggie was having a great time being taught by the tall blonde boy who he quickly had started to look up to and enjoyed spending time with. 

"Okay lets take a break" Lucas suggests 

"Good idea, who wants ice cream?" Josh asks as he stands up straight from his position as catcher behind Auggie

"Me! Me!" Auggie shouts

Josh chuckles "okay, how bout you Luke?" 

"Sure"

"Okay can you watch him while I go get it?"

Lucas nods "sure no problem man"

Once Josh leaves, Lucas and Auggie take a seat on the bench

"So you like living here Auggie?" he asks 

Auggie nods smiling "Yeah I like living close to Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Josh" 

"Do you miss New York?" he asks curiously 

"I miss my friends at my old school" he says kind of sadly " but I made new ones here" he adds more upbeat 

Lucas smiles "Thats great, I'm glad your making friends"

He nods "Yeah, And I like to see Riley happy again" he comments

That caught Lucas attention

"Riley wasn't happy back in New York" he asks 

Auggie shakes his head "No she looked sad all the time and sometimes I could hear her crying in her room" he replies a little sad 

Lucas tried to picture the small brunette who was always so upbeat and cheery become sad. He hated to picture her with tears in those big brown eyes that always seemed so happy. 

"Do you know what she was sad about?" he asks. He knew he shouldn't be prying but he couldn't help it

Auggie again shakes his head "I would ask her but she said nothing was wrong"

"She is happy again, but I still hear her cry sometimes at night"

"Really?" Lucas asks 

Auggie nods "But don't tell her I told you, I don't want her mad at me"

Lucas smiles “Don’t worry, it will be our little secret"


End file.
